Skipping
by AmyCoolz
Summary: Draco Malfoy has been skipping classes. What happens when he catches Hermione Granger doing the same? Rated M for sexual content. Cute ending.


**A/N:** Well, it's finally done! My Draco/Hermione story! I hope you guys like it as much as I do! I must say it's one of my greatest stories to date. I don't own Harry Potter or anyone in it, so I'm obviously not making money off of this. Enjoy!

Word Count: 6,996

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Skipping

_He was sitting in an alcove off of the beaten path; nobody would find him here, he had made sure of that. He had his legs crossed and tucked away beneath his body; his fingers were wrapped tightly around a stick of hawthorn._

_He heard a noise and he brandished the stick that could cause so much damage with the muttering of a spell at the entrance to his hiding place. The light revealed the soft face of a troubled looking girl with bushy brown hair and the same color eyes, which got wide at the sight of him._

"_What are you doing here?" she asked, startled that she would run into him here._

_He thought for a moment, debating with himself if he should just tell her the truth or tell her to sod off. "Nothing," he lied and got up to leave. She caught his sleeve, however, and turned him around, leaning in until their lips touched, which sent an electric shock down his spine…_

He jolted up in bed, more awake than he had been in his whole life. A cold sweat was dripping from his forehead and he was shaking. "Hermione," he whispered; he dragged his legs up to his chest, cradling his head on his knees.

He sat for a while, in the stifling silence of the dormitory, before grabbing his sheets up from where he had kicked them on the floor; and covering himself up, he fell asleep once more.

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He was shaken awake by one of his fellow housemates. He opened an eye, annoyed, and saw the face of Blaise Zabini staring down at him, a smirk playing about his lips.

"Come on, Draco," he said, shaking Draco again, though he knew he was already awake. "You don't wanna miss breakfast, do you?"

"You're going to miss a lot more than breakfast if you don't get out of here right now, Zabini," Draco growled, swatting Blaise's hand away as he tried to shake him again.

"Come on, Draco," whined Blaise.

"Don't whine, Zabini; it's not becoming of you." Draco reprimanded, rolling over so he faced away from the annoying Italian boy. "Go away."

"Fine, but don't forget that Potions is our first class today," he reminded, and Draco could practically _hear_ the crunched nose at his next statement: "With the Gryffindors."

He waited until he heard the door open and close before propping himself up on his pillow. _"With the Gryffindors."_

_Hermione…_ he thought, but quickly shook the feeling of longing off. How could he possibly feel something besides contempt for the Mudblood? He had been raised to hate them, to pretend, however severely, that they didn't belong in Wizarding society.

But there was something about this particular Mudblood – Muggle-born – that had his head reeling with so many thoughts and emotions that he had never thought or felt before. It scared him to death, really, to be thinking of the Mudb – _Muggle-born_ – in this way.

He got up and showered, dressing for the day. He wasn't entirely happy about having Potions with the Gryffindors as his first class of the day, but being able to see the Mud – _Muggle-born_ – made it tolerable.

He made his way down to the Great Hall, where breakfast was being served already. Of their own volition, his eyes went to the Gryffindor table, searching for the head of bushy brown hair. But alas, he did not see it. No sign of the Muggle-born anywhere in the Great Hall.

He continued on to the Slytherin table, seating himself between Blaise and Pansy; the latter immediately clung to his arm, cooing in his ear, "Drakie-poo, what's wrong?"

He snarled and wrenched his arm from her grip. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?!" he growled, slapping a stack of pancakes on his plate. "And nothing is wrong!"

Right at that moment, the Golden Trio of Gryffindor was making its way into the Great Hall. Potter led the group, followed by Weasley and Granger; Potter and Weasley took their seats with an inveterate alacrity, but the usual loquacious Granger sat down with a sigh, her eyes on her plate. She looked like she had been through hell and back.

Draco looked down at the emaciated pancakes on his plate, no longer feeling hungry, and made to get up. However, a hand on his arm prevented him from walking more than a foot from the table. "Where are you going, Drakie-poo?" Pansy crooned; Draco suppressed the urge to slap her across the face.

"Why, I do believe that is none of your damn business. Now unhand me!" Draco tried to pull away, but Pansy had a vice grip on his arm.

His mini-speech had done nothing to beleaguer her. "What's wrong, Drakie-poo?"

Draco this time could not quell the urge to hit her; before he knew what was happening, he had raised his hand and brought it back down, backhanding her across the cheek. The slap resounded through the Great Hall, now deathly silent as they watched the argument between the two Slytherins. Draco sneered at Pansy, who was staring at him with wide, tearful eyes, before exiting the Great Hall.

Once in the secluded security of the Entrance Hall, he leaned up against a wall, and sighed. He ran a hand through his platinum hair, mussing it up; it had taken him more than half an hour to make it perfect, but he didn't care at the moment. He sighed again, letting himself slide down the wall to mingle with the dust and dirt on the floor.

Just as he was about to punch the wall for his earlier show of weakness, Hermione Granger came out of the Great Hall; she looked over to where he was sitting, a sympathetic look on her face. She took a few tentative steps forward, and after making sure Draco wasn't going to lash out at her, took the remaining steps and sat down in front of him.

Eyeing her suspiciously, he voiced his thoughts. "What do you want, Granger?"

She opened her mouth to snap back at him, but stopped when she realized that he hadn't insulted her. "You… you didn't call me 'Mudblood'…"

"I-" Draco tried to come back with a retort, but was stuck; he certainly _hadn't_ called her 'Mudblood'. "I was thinking…"

"Thinking? Or wallowing in self-pity?"

Draco scoffed and looked down at the floor. Granger _had_ always been clever, but he couldn't let her know he believed that. "Malfoys do not 'wallow in self-pity'." He looked up into her soft brown eyes. "We're much stronger than that."

"All I'm saying, Malfoy, is that I feel sorry for you and what you've been through already this year… It must be very hard to deal with being a Death Eater's son and-" She was cut off as Draco scoffed again.

"I do not need _your_ sympathy, Granger. And besides, how would _you_ know how hard it is?"

"I don't," she stated simply, getting to her feet. "But you really don't have to get defensive about it; I was only trying to help, after all." She walked away briskly, heading back into the Great Hall.

Draco sighed again, dragging his hand through his hair again. _Way to go, Draco… She tries to be nice to you and you, of course, have to go and fuck it up…_

After sitting in the shadows a little longer, he finally pushed himself up as the bell rang for class to start. He saw the students in the Great Hall migrating out, some heading upstairs, others outside, and others still down to the dungeons; when he spotted the Golden Trio, Granger looked over and smiled weakly at him, before falling into step behind Potter and Weasley.

He sneered at their retreating backs before following them down into the dungeons. Halfway to Professor Snape's class, he realized he'd forgotten his bag in his private room; he checked around him before rushing off to the Slytherin area. He muttered the password hastily, climbed inside and ran up to his room, grabbed his bag and left the common room.

He was just two steps away from the Potions classroom door when the bell rang; he skidded inside just in time to see Snape shut the door to his office. "Mr. Malfoy, please take your seat." He indicated the empty seat next to Pansy.

Draco sneered and looked around, hoping that he could sit somewhere away from the bimbo; he noticed the only other unoccupied seat was next to Granger. Begrudgingly he sat down next to her, dropping his bag on the ground. Snape raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing as he waved his wand to make directions appeared on the board behind him.

Draco wasn't listening to his droning, however; he was too busy pretending to be focused on Granger and what she was doing. He watched as she cut up the Mimbulus Mimbletonia to the most precise measurements and gazed as she juiced the ginger root expertly. Despite his efforts, she noticed his staring and waved the knife in front of his face. "Malfoy? If we're going to get passing marks for the day, I'd appreciate it if you would please help me."

"Huh…? Oh, yes…Of course."

The two dutifully worked the whole period, adding ingredients here, stirring their concoction there; when Snape instructed everyone to bring a sample of their potion, Draco ladled some of it into a vial, corked it, and placed his and Granger's name on the outside. He then brought it up to Professor Snape, who eyed it carefully; he gave them both full marks and a reward of 10 points each for creating "such a fine potion."

Draco went back to his seat, where Granger was packing her stuff up. "Well, um, it was actually nice working with you, Malfoy… Perhaps we should, um, partner up next time?"

He could only nod his agreement as she slung her bag over her shoulder and met up with Potter and Weasley at the door; he saw Potter sneer and say something to her as Weasley gave Draco a dirty look. Granger snapped back and the Trio left the Potions room, led once again by Potter. Draco sighed for the fourth time that day and, throwing his own bag over his shoulder, left the classroom.

He had to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun as it streamed through the doors and into the Entrance Hall; he made his way out the front doors of the school, trudging down to his Care of Magical Creatures class where that giant oaf was living. As he neared the rear of the group of black robes, he slung his bag onto the ground, resulting in a dull thud as the heavy books met the soft grass.

Draco sat down on a rock, head in his hands as he watched the pathetic excuse for a teacher try to explain what they would be learning about today; after his confrontation with that hippogriff in third year, he could never trust the giant with anything safe again. He got up as the class started to walk into the woods; he trailed behind and, when nobody was looking, hid behind a tree.

He dropped his bag, sat atop it, and leaned against the trunk of the tree. He closed his eyes and listened to the silence of the forest; during the day it was nice to come out and relax, but at night it was anything but blissful. He heard the cracking of twigs and opened his eyes to see Granger standing over him.

She smiled at him softly, sitting down on the tree root next to him. "What's wrong, Malfoy?"

He shook his head, closing his eyes again. "Tired."

"Ah." He could hear the nod she gave, and opened his eyes again. "Might I ask what you're doing over here?" she inquired.

"What does it look like I'm trying to do?" He asked, albeit harshly. His face softened some as he realized she had hurt her. "I… My apologies…" he muttered.

Her eyes got slightly rounder at his murmured apology. "It's all right, really…" she whispered, inching closer to him.

He looked at her strangely, wondering what she was doing; she was now about half a foot away from him and getting closer. "What… what are you doing?" he asked as she leaned her face towards his.

"For once in my life, I don't know." She closed her eyes and placed her lips lightly on his. All of his dreams were coming true; he had just started to respond to the kiss – his hand lifting to cup her cheek – when she pulled away. "I'm sorry." Then she got up and started to run back to the class.

He bent forward around the side of the tree and watched her run, her hair sweeping across her back as she moved, her hips swinging swiftly with each rapid step. He sighed once again and leaned back against the trunk of the tree, closing his eyes again.

When he heard a loud rustling and many twigs breaking, he opened his eyes from his slumber and glanced around the side of the tree again; he saw the students coming back from the Care of Magical Creatures class. He hid behind the tree, watching as everyone walked by.

He saw the Trio and caught bits and pieces of their conversation as they passed. "Where do you suppose Ferret-Face was today?" _Definitely Weasley._

"Who cares?" _Potter, that git._ "I hope he stays gone." _That _can_ be arranged…_

"Will you guys just leave him alone? Has it ever occurred to you that he's having a hard enough time without you two badgering him all the time?" _Hermione's… defending me?!_

"What, I suppose you want us to make friends with him, huh?" _Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Weasley._ "Next you'll be saying that you're in love with him, right?" Potter and Weasley didn't notice the blush that crept up onto Granger's face, but it was clear as day to Draco.

He had two reactions to that blush. One was complete and utter shock. The other was to smile slightly, oddly pleased. But Granger didn't say anything out loud, did she?

He waited until all of the students were gone before picking up his bag and heading up to the castle for his next class: Divination. Granger wasn't in this class and he silently thanked the gods that she wasn't; but the thought of spending an entire period, not only with that crackpot old lady, but also with Pansy, didn't appeal to him at all. So before he got to the spiral staircase that would lead him to Trelawney's room, he took a detour and hid behind a tapestry.

He dropped his bag unceremoniously and sat down on top of it; he had to get up and shift it, however, because his quill was poking him in the arse. He fished around in his pockets for something to possibly eat; he found a Sugar Quill and a couple stray Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Ten minutes or so into the period, he stuck his head into the hallway to get some air fresher than the stuffiness of the tapestry; what he saw was shocking: Granger, running around with her bag and books, looking for a hiding place. Draco thought for a bit before whispering frantically, "Granger, in here!"

She whipped around to stare at his head, hesitating before running over and behind the curtain to hide with him. She sat down on her bag and stared at him as he reinforced the closures on the tapestry. When he finally sat down she spoke. "What are you doing here, Malfoy?" She was slightly breathless from running.

He looked at her warily before responding with, "Skipping." He shrugged at the disapproving look she gave him. "It's not like it matters. Divination calls for clairvoyance, of which I have none."

She chuckled lightly, but stopped when she saw his dour expression. "Sorry," she whispered, curling back into herself.

"No, it's all right," he reassured her. "So what's your story? Hermione Granger, the Great Martinet of Hogwarts, skipping class?"

"Well, yeah… I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean to slap him… Well, maybe I did, but he's such a pervert!"

Draco was taken aback at this. "Who?"

"Ronald!" she practically shouted. "He was staring at my… my… well, you know! I told him to stop and he made some sick joke; I slapped him and fled before I could get into trouble."

"I can honestly tell you that as soon as they find out you're skipping, you'll be in even more trouble," he reprimanded.

She looked at him pointedly. "I can honestly say I don't care."

He raised a brow at her disregard for the rules. "Really?"

"Yes." She nodded, and then inched closer to him.

He didn't try to move away or ask her what she was doing this time; instead, he snaked an arm around her waist and tangled the other hand in her hair.

She shut her eyes, relishing the feeling of his limber fingers in her hair; she leaned forward slightly, stopping to place a hand on his chest.

Draco waited for a moment, and when she didn't move anymore, he leaned in until their lips were touching. He watched as her eyes flew open and searched his open ones; she closed them again and pressed her lips even harder against his. He pulled her closer to him still, causing them to topple over onto the floor.

He closed his own eyes and started moving his lips against her. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she pulled him closer. His tongues darted out to trace her bottom lip, asking entrance. She granted it by opening her mouth a titch, enough to allow him a taste.

He didn't want a mere sample, though, so he pushed his tongue completely inside of her mouth; he bypassed her teeth and went straight for the kill, massaging her tongue with his own. She moaned as their tongues made contact; she thought that he tasted like vanilla and honey, but pushed that thought aside as his hands started to caress her back softly.

_God, she tastes so good. Like… strawberries and chocolate_, he though, pushing his tongue farther into her mouth. He swirled it around, brushing over teeth and the roof of her mouth.

Suddenly the blissful snog session was over as her lips left his; he opened his eyes to see her staring wide-eyed at the tapestry. He looked over, and standing there, fists clenched, eyes wide and face red, was Ron Weasley.

The weasel – damn his intrusion into Draco's paradise – gave Granger a dirty look , and then glared daggers at Draco, who only glared back, before turning on his heel and charging off down the corridor.

Draco looked back at Granger, and wasn't surprised to see tears in her eyes. "Granger, I-"

She whipped back to stare at him, and then finally pushed him off herself. She grabbed her bag and marched out of the hiding spot, which wasn't so hidden anymore. Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking at the floor. A flash of silver caught his eye and he bent down to inspect it; it was a locket from a necklace.

"That's odd…" he muttered to himself. "I didn't notice she was wearing a necklace…" He pressed the tiny button on top of the silver heart and it popped open in his hand.

He brought it closer to his face, looking at the pictures inside. The one on the left was one of him, flashing a rare, kind smile he only wore when he thought no one was looking. The one on the right was of Granger; she was laughing. A flicker of red hair would make its way in on the right once in a while; Draco though it safe to say that this was a picture of the Trio, and that Granger had simply cut herself out of it… or the other way around. He wouldn't blame her though; he would cut Weasley and Scarhead out of pictures any day.

He pocketed the small pendant after closing it; he stuck his head out of the opening of the tapestry to check the time. It was 11:45 am, only fifteen minutes left in the period.

He sat back down on his bag, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes. He sighed and brought his fingers up to touch his lips. They still vibrated from the wild and blissful contact he'd shared with the Mud – _**Muggle-born**_.

_Hermione…_ he though, and then fell asleep.

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"Where've you been all this time, mate?" Blaise questioned, clapping Draco on the shoulder as he sat down next to him at the Slytherin table for lunch.

"Skipping," Draco replied nonchalantly; he waved his hand, marking that the conversation was over. He watched as the Trio made their way into the Hall. Granger sat down at her usual place between the two dolts she called "friends"; she looked over at Draco and smiled. He felt the sides of his mouth tug upwards of their own accord.

"Drakie-poo!" Draco's almost-grin died immediately and the moment of bliss was ruined as Pansy ran down the aisle towards him. Granger's smile faded as she looked away towards Ron, who was apparently telling a very bad joke if he ungraceful hand movements throughout the air were any indication.

Draco groaned and turned to face the intruder, famous Malfoy sneer in place. "What the hell do you want, Pansy?" he hissed.

She simply smiled at him, a move that Draco found unnerving. "Oh, Drakie, I forgive you for this morning." She sat down and clung to his arm; he shifted away from her a few inches. "I know you didn't mean to do it," she cooed.

He glared at her before yanking his arm back. "First of all, I didn't apologize for this morning. Second of all, I _did_ mean to hit you!" He quickly rose from the table and stormed out of the Great Hall; he was two steps from the entrance to the dungeons when a big hand on his shoulder spun him around. A second hand, balled into a fist, punched him in the face. He fell to the floor, holding his now-broken nose, and looked up into the angry face of Ron Weasley.

"Thought you could snog her and get away with it, did you?!" He kicked Draco in the stomach and he toppled over, writhing in pain.

"Ron, stop it!" Draco looked up to see Granger running out of the Great Hall; Potter was trying to hold her back, but she hexed him. He now lay on the floor stock still, having been hit by the Full Body Bind.

"No, Hermione! Not after what he did to you earlier!" Weasley pulled his wand and aimed it right at Draco's face. "_Cruc_-"

"_EXPELLIARMUS_!" Weasley's wand flew from his hand and into Granger's open one. "I told you to stop! I _wanted_ him to kiss me, all right?! Had that thought _ever_ penetrated your thick skull?!" She hit him, albeit a little softly, and then fell to her knees, crying.

Weasley's eyes got wide at this information as he raised his fist. He was inches away from smacking her when Draco pulled his wand and yelled, "_Petrificus Totalus!_" Weasley's arms and legs molded together as he fell to the floor like a board.

Draco looked over to Granger, who was now sobbing on the floor. A crowd had formed around them now and Draco recognized McGonagall and Snape making their way forward. "What's all this now?" McGonagall queried, looking between Granger, Potter, Weasley, and Draco. She saw Draco's bloody nose and helped him off the floor; he winced at the jolt of pain sent through his side where Weasley had kicked him. Snape lifted the hexes off Weasley and Potter while helping Granger get to her feet. "Mr. Malfoy, you'll have to go to the Hospital Wing," McGonagall informed him.

Draco nodded and followed her up the stairs to go to Madam Pomfrey's. He heard hurried footsteps behind him as he reached the landing, and then warm lips were on his. A collective gasp of shock rushed through what was left of the crowd at the end of the stairs.

Granger pulled back and put her hands on his shoulders. "Thank you, Draco," she whispered. He nodded curtly and then continued to follow McGonagall up to the Hospital Wing.

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Draco remained in the Hospital Wing until dinner, complaining about abdominal pains where Weasley had kicked him. His nose was back to normal, however, and he was thankful for that. What would his father say, after all, if he returned home with a crooked nose?

He didn't talk to anyone at dinner, but nearly everyone around him was caught up in conversation about the kiss he had shared with Granger at lunch. Instead he stared at Hermione the whole time. He didn't eat anything, and neither did Granger, he realized.

When dinner was over he lingered behind before making his way down to the Slytherin commons. He had the feeling that he was being followed the whole time, but shook it off as just paranoia. He muttered the password when he got to the entrance and climbed inside, making his way to his room next to the boys' dormitory. He shut the door behind him and went into his bathroom.

When he came out a couple minutes later he found Granger seated on his bed. "H-how did you get in here?" he wondered, sitting next to her nonetheless.

"I followed you here from dinner," she said, scooting closer to him. "How's your side?" She indicated the bandaging around his stomach, now visible since he was shirtless, clad only in his pajama bottoms.

"Oh, it'll be fine," he replied; shifting to get more comfortable, he winced at the shot of pain in his side. At her concerned look, he set a hand on her thigh, comforting her. "It'll be fine, Hermione."

She looked up from his hand to his face; her eyes softened a bit as he lightly caressed her cheek with his other hand. She nodded, understanding his unspoken question, and whispered, "Okay, Draco."

"Are you…Are you sure?" He swallowed, a bit nervous as this was his first time in this, ahem, _area_. After all, with no one much better than Pansy in Slytherin House, who would he want to do, ahem, _this_ with?

Granger, smiling softly, nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. But I've never…That is to say, I…I've read about the subject, but I've never…"

He silenced her simply by pressing his lips to hers. "Time for a bit of hands-on learning, then," he murmured.

She nodded once more and, with trembling hands, he slid her robes from her shoulders. Eyes wide on his, she fisted her hands in her lap, unsure what else to do with them. Next he undid her tie and dropped it to the floor. Her jumper was quickly unbuttoned and discarded as his breathing and heartbeat quickened.

As he slowly unsnapped the buttons of her shirt, her eyes, such a soft, beautiful brown, widened further. She began to stutter mindlessly when her shirt was dropped to the floor alongside her tie, robes, and jumper. Now all she had was her bra, her skirt, her knee-high socks, her shoes, and her knickers. When his fingertips skimmed the skin just above her bra-line, she jolted as if burned. And, indeed, it felt as if she had been.

"Draco, I…I really…" When his mouth went hesitantly to the spot his hand had just been, she let her eyes slide close. "This is actually rather enjoyable," she whispered.

"Is it?" He found it rather painful. Well, no, he didn't find the _entire_ thing painful. Touching her, tasting her, was extremely pleasing, but the entrapment of his erection was hurting him. He very much wanted to be rid of his pants, but he wasn't certain how she would react at the sight of him.

So he contented himself to swing her legs into his lap to remove her shoes and the infernal socks that hid so much of her lovely skin. Her eyes were full of desire and, to his surprise, trust. Who ever would have thought that the Muggle-born would ever hold any amount of trust in him? Then again, who would have ever thought that he would trust a Muggle-born to this extent? The loss of virginity was an important time in one's life, wasn't it?

Slowly, he skimmed his hands up her legs and, biting his lip, slipped them beneath the folds of her skirt. He wasn't quite sure if he should touch her…her _place_, but he did risk the removal of her knickers.

She shuddered and he wasn't sure why. "Are you…all right?"

Granger nodded slowly, eyes closed. "Wonderful, really…" Now he did touch her. Gently he cupped her center, shuddering himself at the feel of the soft curls of hair. When he slid a finger into her, her eyes flew open. "Oh, my!" It was a strange sensation to feel her insides close tightly around his finger, yet at the same time he enjoyed it. He slid another finger into her, rubbing in a gentle circular motion.

She was beautiful, was all he could think. Her skin was flushed, her eyes dark on his. When she cried out his name and went pliant against the bed, he moved his hand so he could remove her skirt. Now all that was left between them was her cotton bra and his accursed pants.

He eased her into a sitting position and kissed her. The feel of her hands on his bare back caused little jolts of pleasure to spear through his body, directly to his loins. His heart skipped a beat as he undid the damn clasp at her back. How anyone could do that one-handed was beyond him…

When the bra joined the rest of her clothing, he shifted to study her thoroughly. Eyes on hers once again, he smoothly cupped her small breasts, caressing the taut nipple with his thumbs.

Her head fell back on a low, throaty moan. Never in her life had she been touched like this. Really, she'd never thought about it. The books she'd read and articles she had skimmed had never spoken that there was so much to feel during this act. Especially the first time it occurred for a person. It was fascinating and mind-numbing and so much more that her currently befuddled brain simply could not comprehend at the moment.

She slipped her palms down his front, tilting her head forward to watch, and began inching his trousers down. When they were shoved down his thighs, their twin gasps escaped. Draco's was of relief, Granger's of surprise. Certainly this was what several articles had described as "gifted." This could never fit all the way inside her… It was simply impossible!

Yet she began to feel a sort of anticipation trailing up her spine that had her trembling. Along with that came her innate curiosity. When she placed a finger on it, Draco gasped her name. After she pushed it down, it sprang right back up and Draco groaned quietly in her ear. And, she found when she placed a finger on the very tip, it was wet! Upon bringing her fingertip to her mouth she realized that, while a bit salty, it wasn't an altogether unpleasant taste.

She was pleased to see that the usual calm gray of his eyes had deepened into a dark color that reminded her of storm-clouds. She reached her wet finger back down to slick it down his part to make him groan her name. Closing a hand tightly around it, she felt it throb as if his heart was there. She carefully guided it to her center and held her breath as Draco got the message and began to ease inside her.

When the pain started, he paused and pressed his lips to hers, coaxing her to relax. As her concentration went to the taste of his mouth rather than what was happening between her legs, he eased in the rest of the way painlessly – something that she didn't notice until the kiss broke off.

They were on their knees, facing each other, linked together. Draco realized that they were completely and totally equal, something which went against everything he had been taught his entire life. Not just pureblood to Muggle-born, but man to woman as well. He smiled and took her hips in his hands, gently massaging them. To hell with such a foul upbringing.

He pulled back and thrust slowly into her once more, unsure if speed would hurt her at all. When her own pretty smile graced her features, he repeated the easy thrust. Then again, gasping when she mimicked his movements.

Slowly, they repeated this again and again until they were both aching for release. Then they began to speed up instinctively, fingers linked, mouths meeting.

When, finally, they were able to let go, they moaned one another's name and pressed their bodies even closer. Draco shuddered with the force of his release, pressing the limits of closure on their bodies. He inhaled deeply, smelling the compelling aroma of her, their sweat mixed together, and the evidence of their activities. The scent alone was captivating, if only to match the sight of Granger in pure bliss as she too released.

Draco pulled out of her slowly, kissing her lips, and fell to the bed unceremoniously. Granger followed him to the bed, snuggling into his side. He brought his arm down to wrap around her waist and pull her still closer to him. He glanced down to see her smiling softly up at him. He gave her a light smile back.

"That was…" she began, but couldn't finish as Draco's lips found hers in a passionate kiss. When he broke off she muttered breathlessly, "perfect." She licked her lips and rested her head on his chest, enjoying the rising and falling motions it made with his vigorous breathing.

He stroked her hair for a while until he remembered the tiny locket that had fallen from her necklace in the room behind the tapestry earlier. He shifted so he could get to his bedside table, rummaging through it. He finally located the little bugger and held it out to Granger in his palm.

She gasped and took it gently from his hand. "W-where did you find it?" She looked up into his eyes, cool grey once more. "I-I thought I had lost it…" She unclasped the chain from around her neck and slid the silver heart onto it. She redid the fastening, fixing it into position on her chest; it rested perfectly on the spot right above her breasts.

"It's lovely," Draco whispered, reaching out to touch it. He looked back up at her face, her eyes shining in adoration.

"Thank you," she replied shyly. She settled back down into the bed, resting her head upon his chest once more, now moving regularly with his breathing. She listened to the beating of his heart, soft and steady. "Hmm… I…I love you, Draco," she breathed, barely audible.

Draco stopped toying with her hair and tugged it carefully down to rest in the small of her back. He looked down into her face, but she had her eyes closed and was sleeping atop him. He smiled slightly, and began twisting her hair around his finger again. Instead of saying aloud what he was thinking, he pulled his wand from under his pillow and pointed it at her locket. Three words appeared in a neat scrawl on the front: "I Love You."

He rolled his eyes and scoffed at his own sappiness. If Father heard about this… Not only would he be pitied upon because of his show of emotion, but he would most likely be disowned for that show of emotion to a Muggle-born. Draco didn't care, though; his father would disown him for his change in support of the war anyway. In that case, he felt safe enough saying that he loved Hermione Granger.

With a flick of his wand, he had them both under the warm coverlet. After replacing the magical instrument, he slid his arm around her and snuggled comfortably.

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Granger's eyes slowly opened, and she immediately realized that she was still curled up against Draco's side, both of them still quite nude. Smiling softly, she pushed her disheveled hair back and vaguely wondered what time it was. She somehow could feel that it was morning, but would they be late for class?

She stood, careful not to wake him, and stooped down to dig up her wand from within her robes. Her locket swung down and she noted something was different about it. Curious, she turned it. "I Love You," it said. She looked at the still-sleeping Draco, happy tears in her eyes. "Oh, Draco…" she whispered.

Beaming, she walked towards his connected bathroom to shower and prepare for the upcoming day.

Soon, she was bent over him, a light smile playing at her lips. "Draco," she murmured.

She touched him lightly on his shoulder, following it with a slight push.

"Draco?" she said once more.

The push came back, this time followed by a rough shaking.

"Draco!"

He finally groaned and opened an eye to see Granger kneeling over him; she had put her shirt and skirt back on, her hair was brushed, and she smelled rather nicely of his soap. _What a pleasant sight to awaken to…_

She smiled upon seeing a single silver eye winking back up at her. "Wake up, we'll be late for class," she said, throwing him some clothes. He yawned a little and stretched his arms above his head. He then picked up the clothes she had set at the edge of the bed. He slowly got dressed, not wanting to go to classes today.

He noticed the locket bouncing along on the outside of Granger's shirt, glinting in the sunlight that was streaming in through the window. She smiled again before giving him a languid kiss. "Good morning to you, too," he said, smiling slightly.

"I saw what you engraved on my necklace," she breathed, looking him in the eye. He felt as if something was caught in his throat as she placed her hands on either side of his head, framing his face. "It's lovely."

He swallowed and smiled, thinking it was odd to feel nervous after all that they'd shared thus far. "I'm glad you like it." He pulled her to the door of his room and led her out, earning stares and gasps alike from his fellow housemates at their joined hands. Not to mention the fact that no one had seen the _Gryffindor Muggle-born_ enter the Slytherin rooms the night before or anytime this morning.

When they got to the Great Hall they shared a quick kiss before going to their separate tables. Weasley tried to say something to Granger, but she kicked him under the table. Draco chuckled at this and then turned back to his food.

Pansy "The Bitch" Parkinson, as Draco liked to call her, was making her way towards him with a strange expression on her face. As soon as she was in range, she slapped him across the cheek.

"How _dare_ you?!" she shrieked, causing half of the Great Hall to look over. "After everything I've done for you, you run off with that _Mudblood_?!" Several gasps went through the crowd as muffled murmurs exploded into audible ones everywhere.

"No, that's incorrect," Draco retorted, looking her straight in the eye. "I did not 'run off' with Granger. You see the two of us are still at Hogwarts, don't you?" Everyone gasped at this, and their eyes shifted back and forth from him to Granger. "And she's _not_ a Mudblood." Everyone was surprised that he would defend a Muggle-born, Draco being the _Malfoy_ which he was raised. "But you are a bitch, Pansy, and I am in love with her."

She shrieked and went to hit him again when Professor Snape walked up behind them. "What's this commotion?" He looked at Draco - who had a sneer plastered on his face - to Pansy - who looked as if she were about to murder someone. "Right; Miss Parkinson, follow me." He led her from the Hall down to the Dungeons, no doubt to his office.

Draco sighed in relief, slumping his shoulders some and rubbing the spot where Pansy had slapped him. A few moments later he felt a hand at his shoulder and turned around to see Granger standing there with a sympathetic smile on her face. "Are you okay, Draco?"

He nodded as he shifted on the bench. "She was a bitch anyway." She chuckled at this comment and pressed her lips lightly to his.

"I love you, Draco," she whispered and then turned to go back to the Gryffindor table.

But before she had taken a single step, he had captured her hand in his and had it lifted to his lips in a rather gallant gesture. "And I you, Hermione."

He was pleased to see her smile brightly before going off to Gryffindor's table.

As he sat at the Slytherin table just between Crabbe and Goyle, Draco had to admit he had certainly underestimated the Muggle-born. She was much more intelligent than people gave her credit for. People like the one he used to be, that is. If it weren't for her, he would be half the man he was today, though he couldn't quite see how that was even possible. He only knew that it was true and that was all that mattered at that moment.

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**A/N:** Okay, it's finally finished!!!! lol I'm not too happy with how it ended, but I guess it's okay. Sylvia liked it anyway… Oh, which by the way, she helped me with this. Not only did she work as my beta, but she also supplied the sex scene, which would not have been possible without her. lol

But please review! It would be much appreciated! And don't forget about mine and Sylvia's other story we're working on: Transferred. Since it's in three different versions, you'll have to read hers, posted on Starthehedgecat; mine, posted on AmyCoolz; and the generic version, posted on WeBeOSM.

Thanks it advance!

AmyCoolz


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